A visually impaired man was left living in a hotel with no cooking facilities for 13 months longer than he should have been, forcing him to rely on takeaways and pushing him into financial trouble.
Mr B, as he is identified in the report, was placed in temporary accommodation by Westminster City Council after presenting as homeless in May 2023. The hotel was far from his support network, which made attending hospital appointments difficult.
Ombudsman orders £3,900 compensation
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has ordered Westminster City Council to pay Mr B £3,900 in compensation. This was £550 more than the council originally offered, as the regulator found there were “significant factors” warranting a larger payment.
The Ombudsman’s decision outcome reads: “I welcome the council’s offer of £3,350 to remedy the injustice. However, I think its decision to base the amount on £150 a month is flawed.
“We take into account all the circumstances in reaching a decision on a suitable amount within our range of £150 to £350 per month. The council has already recognised Mr B had to buy takeaways every day and was vulnerable due to his disabilities.
“I note he had extra travelling costs due to being away from his support network and in an unfamiliar area, which was exacerbated by his disability. I consider these are significant factors which warrant a higher payment of £300 per month.”
Timeline of events
Mr B was placed in the hotel after presenting as homeless in May 2023. The council ended its housing duty toward him in November 2023, believing him to be “intentionally homeless” – a term used when the council deems someone to have refused an acceptable offer of accommodation. This decision was reviewed, and from March 2024 the council once again accepted its housing duty.
Following a request from Mr B, the council decided in June 2024 that the accommodation was unsuitable and said it would make a new offer of self-contained temporary accommodation. However, by January 2025, Mr B’s representative made a formal complaint as he had still not been offered alternative accommodation.
The council made two offers of accommodation that it then withdrew after finding these were unsuitable for Mr B’s needs. In mid-February 2025, the council responded to the complaint and offered £1,350 – or £150 a month – for nine months of living in unsuitable housing. Mr B moved to new accommodation that same month.
Mr B’s representative noted that the dates in the complaint response were wrong, as he had been living in unsuitable accommodation since May 2023, a period of 21 months. In April 2025, the council increased the offer to £3,150.
Council acknowledges delays and failings
Following an escalation of the complaint to Stage 2, the council responded again, apologising for the delay in finding suitable accommodation. It acknowledged that it should have provided him with food vouchers, although it said it could not reimburse him for travel costs.
The council also acknowledged the five-month delay in notifying Mr B it was ending its relief duty towards him. In August 2025, it offered Mr B a total of £3,350. After the case was referred to the Ombudsman, this amount was uplifted to £3,900.
In its report, the Ombudsman decided that the council delayed finding suitable accommodation for a total of 13 months, covering June 2024 until February 2025, and noted the five-month delay in notifying Mr B about the end of its relief duty.
